Kathy Smith's Walkfitt

kathy smith's walkfit volume 1 consists of two 30 min solid state
sessions, although i am able to add intervals of jogging during the fastest part of the workout.

after my first workout with this audio, i learned that when things get fast, i must shorten my stride and take more steps. when i did this workout the first time i didnt realize until later that i had been abnormally lengthening my stride in order to keep up to the
beat. whoo that makes the hip flexors hurt! in later workouts with kathy, she does instruct one to take smaller, yet faster, steps... and she is SO right!

just as with any other workout, the more you put into power walking, the more you will get out of it. the music and kathy make it easier to push yourself to realize more benefits from the workout. one other thing that i especially like about it is that kathy tells you when the workout is half
over. then you know when to turn around and head back the other way.

WalkFitt is a two cassette program for outdoor or treadmill walking. There are 4 walk program options:

tape one, side one - easier walking, more coaching, 30 mins

tape one, side two - slightly faster, less coaching, 30 mins

tape one, 20 mins of side one, 20 mins of side two - total 40 mins

tape two - harder walking, 60 mins total including 20 mins fast pace and 20 mins intervals. The intervals are 3 mins hard, 3 mins easy. Not much coaching on this workout.

I really think these are good workouts. As an advanced exerciser and a runner, I find the workouts a bit on the easy side, but they are good for low impact cross training, and I really feel different muscles being used when I use the walking tapes. I think the tapes would be great for beginner and intermediate exercisers. Kathy Smith is fairly motivational, and her cuing is generally effective. My only complaint with these tapes is the music! I find it to be a bit cheesy (a'la the Firm music), almost embarassingly so. I admit I have very particular music tastes. I think if these walking workouts had been put to music like that in PowerMax, they would be much more popular.

Note: after I received the WalkFitt tapes through the exchange, I discovered that my public library (Calgary) has copies for loan. So you may want to check your public library so you can try the tapes before buying them.